About

ULITA – an Archive of International Textiles (formerly the University of Leeds International Textiles Archive) is housed in St Wilfred’s Chapel on the Western Campus of the University of Leeds.

The purpose of the archive is to collect, preserve and document textiles and related items from many of the textile producing areas of the world for the benefit of scholars, researchers and the general public.

ULITA is primarily a textiles archive, where items can be consulted by individuals and small groups by making an appointment. An online catalogue can be viewed to see the major collections.

Further to this there is a public exhibition area. Temporary exhibitions are held each year, based on aspects of its own collections and equivalent themes.

There is no permanent display; appointments can be made to consult items which do not form part of the temporary exhibitions.

Research and publication are an important focus. Several of the constituent collections were assembled and used as teaching resources in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries by Professors John and Roberts Beaumont, as well as Professor Aldred Barker, all key innovators in the development of textile education. These collections were supplemented by large quantities of material collected, acquired and rescued by the current Director, Professor Michael Hann, in the 1980s and 1990s.

We welcome well-established senior scholars as International Visiting Fellows, on sabbatical leave, wishing to collaborate and participate in researching our collections.